Felix's boy

Chapter four

Jacks POV

"Do you think I talked too much?" I ask Mark as we wait in the foyer. I don't have to wait for Felix today, but I'm happy to wait with Mark for his ride.

"No, I think you talked just enough." Mark gives me a reassuring smile, that I happily return. Mark is great, and I enjoy the time we get to have together.

"Hey, I thought Felix was ill today? Who's driving you home?"

"No one. I'm walking to Felix's place to take care of him while he's sick."

"Then why are you waiting here with me?"

I shrug. "I like you. Do you want me to go?"

"No!" Mark answers immediately, making his face turn the shade of a firetruck. "I mean, n-no, stay, if you want to."

I laugh lightly, nodding and sitting down beside him on the bench.

"So, who are you waiting for?" I ask casually.

"Tyler and Ethan today. I swear, the carpool never stays the same."

"Where are they?"

"Tyler said he's looking for Ethan and to wait here in case he's leaving on his own."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Ethan can get overwhelmed sometimes."

Tyler appears, coming toward us from the end of the hallway.

"Any sign?" Mark calls, standing up and walking over to him. Tyler side steps to expose Ethan, head tilted to the ground, trying to appear smaller than he already is.

Mark doesn't hesitate. He pulls Ethan into a tight hug, mumbling something to him that I can't hear.

He pulls back, just holding Ethan by the shoulders. Ethan doesn't look up at him, but Marks chocolate eyes are focused directly on Ethan.

"Are you okay?" Mark asks him.

Ethan doesn't reply, just nods.

"Good. You want to go home?"

Ethan nods again. Mark turns to me, smiling. "Thanks for waiting with me, Jack. We should get Ethan home now."

"Anytime." I turn my attention to Ethan. "Without breaching any boundaries, I hope whatever is wrong gets better for you."

Ethan looks up slowly, giving me a small, forced smile. "Thank you," he croaks.

I smile, leaving the trio in the foyer.

I walk down the street, my head filled with pleasant thoughts of Mark. My heart beats in excitement to tell Felix all about it.

The small blue house becomes visible and I start to run--sprint actually--toward it.

I don't knock. I get the key from under the mat and let myself in, like I usually do. His parents don't get home until late, so I don't have to worry if they're okay with me walking in whenever I want.

"Honey! I'm home!" I shout, giggling as I took off my green laced converse. I march up the stairs, finding Felix laying in bed, watching The Office on his laptop.

"Hey, kid. How was school?" He asks, his voice quiet from sickness.

"Other than you not being there, it was fantastic! First period, we were painting flowers and Mark is really bad at painting and I can say that because it's true. Anyway, so after he finally finished his picture, that turned out pretty well, he asked me to sit with him and his friends at lunch. They were so nice! They liked video games like us, and one of this friends, Ethan, has blue hair! It's dyed like mine is!"

Felix gives me a fake encouraging look. My smile falters.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"Nothing."

"Felix, I know you well enough to tell when you're lying. What's up?"

Felix shrugs, but I can tell there's something on his mind. A frown creases his face as he looks off out the window.

"I'm just... Im worried about you. I don't know these people."

"You can't control everything in my life, Felix. Besides, I like Mark and his friends. I trust them."

"You trust people far too easily, Jack. That's why I take care of you. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I know, but this is different. Mark feels... special." I feel myself smiling, but I can't stop myself. I'm not lying. The way Mark smiles, and his deep chocolate eyes, and especially the way he cares about his friends, all makes him feel important. He stands out, and I like it.

"Special? Other people have been 'special', Jack."

"Felix, you don't understand--"

"I understand perfectly. You like people. You like talking and making people laugh, and I'm okay with that, you just don't know how to be careful. You don't have a boundary between what you should say and what you shouldn't. That's why I asked the school guidance councillor to set you up with a proper therapist. God knows your aunt Connie doesn't have the sense."

"Felix!" I exclaim, jumping to my feet. He gives me a look. "You didn't think to talk to me first? Excuse me, but this is my life you're meddling in."

"I'm not meddling. You have things to talk about and work through and what better way to work through them then with a professional?"

"I don't want to talk to a mindless drone. I want to socialize and find friends and forget."

"Forgetting won't help you."

"Yeah, well neither are you." I stand up, giving Felix one last glance before marching out of his house proudly.

(Another chapter, wowee. This one is more suspenseful so keep your damn pants on. Yeah, yeah you in the back! Pants! Back on. Put them back on! I don't want to see those damn Spider-Man underwear. Why Spider-Man? Batman's better.

*coughs awkwardly* bye.

*waves*